Brain Freeze is also called Ice-Cream Headache and Cold Stimulus HeadacheEven my children know about brain freeze! A cold stimulus to the hard part of the roof of the mouth can provoke intense pain in the head. 
What do experiments tell us about cold stimulus headache?Studies of volunteers who had ice cubes held against their hard palate experienced intense pain within about 12 seconds, and the pain lasted for about 21 seconds on average.Swallowing ice-cream can also provoke the pain by cold-stimulus to the back of the throat (Pharynx). The pain can be sharp, throbbing or can even develop into a proper migraine headache. The pain is commonly over the temple (>50% in one report). People with a history of migraine seem much more likely to experience an episode of cold stimulus headache. Cold stimulus can also provoke pain in your chest and lower back. This disorder is more a curiosity than a medical condition - so what's the treatment? Avoid cold stimuli! Alternatively, some have suggested that if you warm up the hard palate before you eat an ice-cream e.g. place your (washed) hand / thumb on the hard palate you be able to reduce the intensity of the cold-stimulus and avoid the headache.
ReferencesHM Selekler et al. Prevalence and clinical characteristics of an experimental model of ‘ice-cream headache’ in migraine and episodic tension-type headache patients. Cephalalgia 2004;24:293-7 (Free Abstract only)Nigel Bird et al. Ice Cream Headache - Site, Duration, and Relationship to Migraine. Headache 1992, 32:35-38 (Free Abstract only) Ice cream headache. No need for abstinence. BMJ 1997;314:1364. (Free Full text)
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